In 2010, DP World was the first international marine and inland trade services provider to join the renowned CDP, which holds the most comprehensive set of global corporate environmental data. Through its climate change programme, thousands of the world’s largest companies disclose information on their greenhouse-gas emissions, energy use and climate change risks.
DP World’s Global Safety & Environment team has since been reporting action plans across its portfolio, monitoring energy use, making terminal operations more efficient, embracing renewable energy projects and investing in low-carbon technologies.
A recent example is the company’s ‘Go Green Week’, a collaboration in its third year with the world’s leading port operators to address three main ecological areas – Reuse and Recycle, Climate Change and Community. Different activities take place each year, often with neighbouring ports, across DP World’s global portfolio of 77 operating marine and inland terminals in 40 countries. Each business unit choses one or more of several activities, including reusing waste materials from the port, food waste composting, clean-up of terminal and surrounding areas, energy saving drives, tree planting, volunteering at local wildlife parks and supporting environmental education for local communities.
Another example is the DP World-commissioned installation of 88,000 rooftop solar panels on its Dubai facilities making it the largest distributed solar rooftop project in the Middle East. The panels will produce enough clean power for 3,000 homes a year and supports the UAE Vision 2021 for a sustainable environment.
Such programmes help the company achieve significant energy savings, evident in CDP results that show substantial year on year improvement. In 2013, DP World achieved a C score, meaning that the company has knowledge or “awareness” of climate change issues. It improved in 2014 scoring a B demonstrating coordinated action through their “management”. In 2015 and again this year, DP World has achieved a “leadership” score of A- proving that it is now implementing best practice in the transport industry.
In other CDP scoring categories such as governance and strategy, risk and opportunity management, and emissions management, DP World also excelled, clocking numbers much higher than sector and region averages.
DP World Group Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, said: “I am delighted with the tremendous improvements in our environmental performance, which is key in helping us build a legacy for future generations. We strive to ensure everything we do leaves long-term benefits for the world we live in and reducing our carbon emissions is a top priority.
“We are making progress on other fronts too. Our collaboration with United for Wildlife to prevent trade in endangered species is just one example of a range of sustainability programmes on the environment, in education and support for communities across the world where we operate.”
DP World Global Safety and Environment Director Nabil Battal said: “Being able to measure and monitor our progress in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions is necessary to benchmark our efforts against those of other stakeholders with common goals. It ensures we all work together to improving our environmental performance and a combined effort is essential to make a meaningful difference.
“So while reporting on our efforts transparently and clearly through CDP will spur further improvements in our own performance, it can also help improve decision-making on climate change for investors, business and policy-makers.”